Snagged some toys from Petsmart last week left over from Halloween. A small Kong Wubba scarecrow, a devil Loofa dog, and a Martha Stewart Spiders-in-Pumpkin toy. First time my crew has had a Wubba or Hiding toys, we'll post a review later this week!

About 4.7 million dog bites happen a year, according to the American Humane Association. But what statistics don't show is how many bites a year could have been prevented? There really needs to be more education and resources for the Average Joe on how to read what dogs are trying to subtly tell us. This chart from Boogie the Boston Terrier's blog is one I'm really fond of.

Just because a dog bites DOES NOT mean that they are aggressive, in often cases the dogs are so stressed or scared, that they are pushed over their threshold and they react the only way they know how. To bite. If you've ever been bitten by a dog, excluding any out of the blue occurrences, whose fault was it? I bet you 9/10 times signals were missed, or misinterpreted.

With owning multiple dogs, fights are something that's just gonna happen. The pack have had their arguments between themselves over the years, only one occurrence did we actually have to seek medical attention. I've also been bitten a fair number of times. Twice that I can recall when I accidentally backed a dog into a corner, ignored the hints, and was told to STFU HUMAN! But most of the time it's when I stick my hands into the middle of the Bash Brothers - Stryder and Lincoln.

I got a fair reminder this evening to not stick my hands near the sharp end when breaking up a fight. No punctures, but my thumb got chomped pretty good, and will be sore for a few days. This could've been easily prevented if I had, like any sane human would, not gotten near the sharp end (or shoved my hand into someone's mouth - sorry Stryder!). The majority of the time I do get bit is due to them redirecting onto me. I do not fault them for this, again it's just one of those things that happens.

Fights in general can be prevented, if you know your dogs triggers. Lincoln's trigger is food. If one of the other dogs get too close to anything he deems a possible food source (like the trash can), I better be handy. Tsuki and Kiba have their little Alpha Bitch scuffles. The Schnauzers don't start fights, but then again won't back down from one (it's a breed/terrier thing). These are all easily prevented by being vigilant when food stuffs is out, that the girls aren't guarding me one another one, and that any grrring with Schnauzers involved is dealt with quickly.

Hopefully someone out there will find this useful. Or just take it as a 3 am rambling of a girl covered in dog hair.

This past weekend we trialed at Happy Tails in Portland, ME. I love trialing at Happy Tails, the drive is only 40 minutes, the facility is huge with an equally large crate room, and all of our friends are there!!

Tsuki sat this trial out. Being a three day trial, I wanted to focus on knocking off some Qs towards Kiba's C-ATCH. Not to fear, Tsuki will be doing TDAA with us next month and will be back in January in CPE. I've also decided that our next CPE trial Stryder will debut in a Fullhouse run, mainly because I want to see what he'll do, and the fact I've lost my ever-loving mind. We've got a couple of Fun Runs between then and now, and I'll (hopefully) be signing up for some private lessons with all three dogs as well.

Here's a general run down of our weekend for those interested.

Friday
Jackpot (4) - NQ and 4th. Enough points in the opening, Kiba is just not a Jackpot dog.
Standard (4) - NQ and 3rd. Over time by 9 seconds and faulted in the weaves.
Wildcard (4) - Q and 2nd. Last leg required for Wildcard (4)!!!
Colors (4) - NQ and 3rd. Over time by 8 seconds due to weaves.
Jumpers (4) - NQ and 3rd. Over time by 8 seconds.

Friday we did not run together at all. My mind was elsewhere over possible issues regarding our weekend and my head just wasn't in the game.

Saturday
Jumpers (4) - Q and 2nd. Last leg required for Jumpers (4) and our CL4-F mini title!!
Snooker (4) - Q and 2nd. 41 pt Snooker run, we did three 6s in the opening and made it through to 6 in the closing. Kiba is such an awesome Snooker dog.
Colors (4) - Q and 1st
Fullhouse (5) - Q and 2nd. 34 pt run.
Standard (4) - NQ and 1st. I tried something different during our weaves (mock-jogging) and she nailed the entry and made it to 10/12 poles before she popped out. It was an allowable amount of faults before she chose to go off course I accidentally directed her to the teeter. Very proud of this run!!

Sunday
Fullhouse (5) - NQ and 2nd. Short by 1 pt due to being late to the table. We were late this morning and didn't get a chance to walk the course. I also tried something new again this run. Kiba will sometimes get frustrated at me and redirect to yelling at me on course, resulting in her losing focus where she is going. Instead of stopping and messing around I'd duck behind her keep running. This actually worked and got her head back in the game!! This is one of the issues we've had for years and are continuing to work on, though she is 110% better since we've started up with our new trainer.
Standard (4) - Q and 2nd. I again tried the mock jogging, and she had TWO SETS OF PERFECT WEAVES. One of the most enjoyable runs to date, our last also being another Standard course.
Wildcard (5) - Q and 1st. Our first Level 5 Wildcard!
Colors (4) - Q and 3rd.
Jumpers (5) - Q and 1st.

This weekend also had a lot of serpentines, tunnel entrances next to the dog walk/a-frame, and lots of flipping around and onto the dog walk. I'm proud to say I actually looked ahead during the day and tried to layer runs that would benefit later in the day. It's only taken 5 years!!!

I am 98% sure I will soon be dropping her down to Enthusiast in CPE. This means she will be able to drop one class. Kiba is not a Jackpot dog, she loves to run with me, and fact of the matter is we haven't really done much distance work. If I drop her to Enthusiast we need 4 more Qs to finish off Level 4, and 39 Qs to her CT-ATCH. If I don't drop her, we'll need 8 and 42 respectfully to finish. Part of me is struggling with the decisions, that we're cheating to accomplish our goals, while the other is yelling (quite loud) that it's all about having fun. Kiba doesn't know she's earning titles, or pretty ribbons (RIBBONS! *drool*), she's just out there having fun and getting fed yummy food.

Any who, that's the short version of our weekend (lol) and we'll end with a picture of Kiba and her swag.

Mum has been having some issues getting posts to go through, but now it looks like we're back up!! She's busy typing up the next post and posing my poor brothers and sisters, so I figured I'd ask for help let you guys know we're still around!

See what I mean...

She also added some additional buttons and do-dads around the blog, for those that like to use Twitter, Networked Blogs, and Google+. The other pups and I would like to thank our friends that suggested adding these features to the blog!

Well it's been awhile since we've last posted, but damn if we're not back full force now with a whole new revamp to the blog. We've done a handful of trials over the summer, including our first USDAA trial in 5 years! Other than that we've been fairly quite with training, but then again we don't do much during the Summer due to the heat. Hot weather and Black Dogs don't mix!

Kiba and I have had a blast running agility together this year. Together we've become stronger with both our listening and handling skills. I've come to love her attitude during our runs, it lets me know where I'm messing up, though she does have her share of wtfness-insubordination. I've leaned she'd rather be pushed than pulled, and is really not a distance dog. She loves to run with me, and I with her (and boy do we RUN!), so we'll see what that does in terms of achieving her C-ATCH this Spring. If I have to, we'll drop down to Enthusiast and continue to have fun together instead of worrying over Qs.

Tsuki started trialing back in April in both CPE and TDAA. I'm focusing on keeping it fun and becoming a stronger team, so we're easing into trialing slower than I did with Kiba. I've noticed that each trial we do, the more confident Tsuki becomes. We've gotten the chance to start doing more fun runs and I am already seeing a *huge* difference in her. She'll be back in the ring this winter as we work towards her TG1 and CL1 titles.

Today we attended our first ever TDAA trial held by Tova Training. For those not familiar with TDAA, it's an agility venue aimed towards small dogs under 17". Here's a little about TDAA, and why it was created. The obstacles were adorable, the people were very welcoming, and we had an awesome time! This trial offered four Standard runs, Dare to Double, and Quidditch. I loved having the challenge of following a different venue's set of rules, as well as different games to play (though I still don't know the rules to Quidditch!!).

Dare to Double (G1) - A point-obstacle game where every time your dog successfully completes the aframe their points are double. We accrued 399 points, Q-2nd.

Standard (B) - Very nice run with Kiba. Boy is she fast over these obstacles, she finished in half the SCT!!! Clean run, Q-3rd.

Quidditch (G1) - A very fun, challenging game. We were one of two dogs that got the "Golden Snitch"!! 260 points, and Q-1st.

Perfect Weekend - We brought home a Perfect Weekend rosette for Qing in every run entered. I just love it when clubs offer different awards! They also had a Perfect Fun ribbon that one would win if they NQ in everything they entered.

I cannot wait to go back in April. Kiba will only need one more Game and two Standard runs to finish her TG1 and TBAD titles. TDAA I think will be a perfect venue for Tsuki, it's just about as cute and adorable as she is. I'll probably bring her along next time and see how she does. Thank you Tova Training for hosting the trial, and Mark Giles for judging!

Saturday we attended EMAC's CPE trial at Happy Tails. We haven't trialed in over 9 months, and I was pleasantly surprised that Kiba and I were still working as a team, and it didn't go as bad as I thought! I didn't realize until after the trial, that it was almost 4 years exactly (same judge even) that Kiba got her Level 1 title! I wonder where we would be right now if we hadn't taken so many breaks in between competing. Anywho, here's the break down of this weekend!

Fullhouse (4) - 29 points after losing one due to time. Kiba kept dodging in front of me on the way to the table. Also nailed a tricky entrance to the weaves. Q-1st

Standard (3) - 5 faults due to me accidentally pulling Kiba out of the weaves. Nicely recovered and continued the rest of the course as a team. Q-2nd. This also finished off our CL3-R title!!

Jumpers (4) - Off course. I did not make it in time for a front cross and ending up stopping short at the tunnel. Took her a few times to get in there but the rest of the run was nice.

Stuff to work on:

Treat every run like we Q'd! I was upset about our Standard run because of the weaves and didn't jackpot her afterwards like I normally would. In the end we Q'd and I felt like a jackass. Opened my eyes that we just need to go out there and have fun!!

Took Kiba in today for an annual check-up, rabies vaccination, and to discuss her leg.
When walking she would swing her left leg around and twisting it inwards and sticking her right leg out to the side (very minimal movements, only because I live with her I could tell and it took the vet a few minutes to see it too). Dr. Anna checked her hips, knees, joints, etc. and come to find out her right knee slips a
bit. The weird gait is most likely due to Kiba overcompensating for the other side. Dr. Anna also found no signs arthritis or
weakness in her hind end.

Kiba has a few more sebaceous cysts than her last check-up. Dr. Anna confirmed the lump on her chest is a fatty lump, and the smaller one on her loin is another cyst. Kiba is also bladder-stone free! All in all it was a very good visit for my lumpy bumpy Schnauzer girl. We have a week long
trial sample of Rimadyl to start tomorrow, then we'll go from there if it needs to be a daily thing or dispense as needed.

Finally decided it was time to start a Blog for the dogs. I want to Blog about everything the SugarHighK9s do this year, and many more years to come. Right now our primary focus is Agility with Tricks and general oddness thrown in. We plan on trying Rally-O at some point this year, and perhaps some Weight Pull and Dock Diving thrown in.

Now for the introductions:

Kiba, born 7/12/04 is a black Miniature Schnauzer. My HeartDog, my Rockstar. She is always up for anything, and lives to play Agility. She currently holds a CL2 and CL3-F titles in CPE Agility, and has a few Qs in AKC. Plans for Kiba this year: Obtain her CATCH

Stryder, born 1/4/06 is a black Miniature Schnauzer. My Babyboy, he is Kiba's 1/2 brother, though nothing like his sister. Very high drive, though missing a few fries from his Happy Meal. He is dubbed "Uncle Stryder" as he just LOVES the rest as puppies, almost motherly. Plans for Stryder this year: Agility, Weight Pull, and maybe Flyball.

Tsuki, born 11/14/08 is a silver Toy Poodle. The Charmer, she is hands down, the sweetest dog I've ever met. Don't let her size or breed fool you, she is a kickass little spitfire. Often times she is beating up one of her brothers and giving Kiba a run for her money. Plans for Tsuki is year: Agility

Lincoln, born 11/27/08 is a red Miniature Poodle. The NaughtyDog. No obstacle is too high, nor can anything be left untouched. He makes me laugh everyday. The odd dog out, the Orange Blur, I have high hopes for him. Plans for Lincoln: Agility

Charlie, born 1/29/11 is at best guess, a Border Collie/Terrier mix. The Beast. Fast, smart, drivey, with an off switch. Plans for Charlie this year: Started in Agility and Dock Diving